A Group 4 security officer walks down one of the corridors of Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre, Europe's largest detention centre for illegal immigrants, in Bedford (Reuters/Russell Boyce) / Reuters

MPs have called for an end to the indefinite detention of migrants, citing the human cost to the inmates’ mental health and unnecessary public expense.

In a damning report, MPs
said the Home Office is failing to follow its own guidelines,
which advise detention should be used sparingly. Some inmates
have been locked up for years.

Members of the cross-party inquiry say they are shocked by the
horrific testimonies of current and former inmates, some of which
described suicide attempts and sexual harassment.

The UK is the only country in the EU that doesn’t have an upper
time limit on detention, the report says.

The call to end the indefinite detention of migrants comes as
Channel 4 aired an undercover investigation into Yarl’s Wood
immigration removal center that shows guards referring to inmates
as “animals” and “beasties.”

MPs condemned the current system of detention as “expensive,
ineffective and unjust.”

The panel, which included a former cabinet minister, a former
chief inspector of prisons, and a former law Lord, said
indefinite detention had “significant mental health costs for
detainees, as well as considerable financial costs to the
taxpayer.”

Migrants and asylum seekers should be held for no longer than 28
days and even this should be an “absolute last resort,”
the inquiry recommended.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Refugees and the APPG
on Migration said the government should explore alternatives,
such as allowing individuals to live in the community while their
cases are being considered.

The group also recommended pregnant women and victims of rape and
sexual violence should not be detained. Also, those with mental
health problems should only be held under very exceptional
circumstances.

They said screening processes should also be improved to detect
victims of human trafficking.

MPs are said to have gasped in horror when they heard testimonies
over speakerphone from current inmates in detention centers.

One detainee – referred to as ‘A’ – said they had been held for
99 days.

A said: “The things that I’ve been through since I’ve been in
detention till now… it’s getting worse every day.”

A, who suffers from diabetes and mental health problems,
described how they had to wait 10 weeks for a medical appointment
and felt rushed when they were finally able to see someone.

Former detainees also gave evidence, one of whom – J – offered a
harrowing account of what it is like to be on suicide watch in
Yarl’s Wood.

J, who spent five months in detention, described how “anybody
who is [on] suicide watch has sexual harassment in Yarl’s Wood,
because those male guards they sit in there watching you at
night, sleeping and being naked. You can hear them talking
it.”